Our Goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Making the Reeves House Safe.

Dear Friend of Elm Street,

Thank you again for your generosity in making the growth of Elm Street Cultural Arts Village happen. The construction for the Reeves House is underway and we can’t wait to cut the ribbon and have this place make a significant impact on the culture and vibrancy of our community.

As expected with a revitalization project, we are making discoveries as we move forward. As demolition has progressed, we have uncovered some challenges with the foundation and walls of the house. Our engineers have determined that it is unsafe and hazardous to keep the flawed structural elements of the house standing while we continue to work on it.

To be clear, every piece of the Reeves House that was going to be safely saved, is STILL going to be saved. This has been confirmed by the construction company.

Specifically, this includes the old red brick from the chimney, reclaimed wood throughout the house, including the century-old interior woodwork.Also, we are still re-building the Reeves House, not building a different structure. While the space may differ, much of the original reclaimed wood from the 5 original rooms will be used to make this new space. Most importantly, how we rebuild this house must change in our effort to keep people safe. The original effort of “strip and save historical, replace with new structural, then return historical” is not possible so the effort will be “strip and save historical, demo and build new structural, then return historical.”

We wanted you to know in advance of this change so you won’t be surprised if you don’t see a roof or foundation. And if you have any questions please call or send them to me at info@elmstreetarts.org.

Thank you for your understanding. And thank you again for your generosity and partnership to help us Revive the Reeves.